The level of her empathic ability was on an entirely different dimension.
Even now, recalling how quickly the bat-type magical beasts had calmed down felt astonishing.
Could empathic powers really become as natural as breathing in just a single year?
Among all the empaths he had ever met, none had possessed such mastery.
A rumor he had once heard came to mind: the stronger the magical beast one was exposed to, the stronger their empathic ability would become.
Could she have encountered a Crystal Whale?
The thought made Cade let out a helpless laugh.
As if. She hates even dipping her feet into the ocean.
Beside him, Ben looked puzzled.
“Why the sudden laugh?”
“...It's nothing.”
Just then, the reinforcements arrived.
But among them was someone who absolutely should not have been there.
Ben rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
“Lana?! Why are you here?”
Still clumsy with teleportation and levitation magic, Lana was being carried by another mage as she stepped in front of Cade.
Cade stared at the young mage he had specifically excluded from the subjugation mission. Looking thoroughly annoyed, he turned his gaze to the mage who had brought her.
The mage flinched and hurriedly explained.
“W-Well... she kept insisting that she had to see you immediately, Tower Master. She caused such a commotion that I had no choice but to bring her.”
“That doesn't mean you bring a child to a monster-subjugation site...!”
Even as Ben scolded the mage, his eyes remained fixed on Lana.
She was young, but she had never thrown such an obvious tantrum before.
While everyone was wondering what was going on, Lana reached into her pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a letter.
“Tower Master! Please take this!”
“...”
The moment he saw it, Cade knew exactly what it was.
An invitation from the Imperial Palace.
One of countless invitations they had sent over the years.
One he had deliberately refused to so much as touch.
The surrounding mages gasped and cautiously watched his reaction.
“Are you insane? Why would you bring that here?”
“A maid serving Her Highness the Princess came to the academy today and left it with me.”
“What?”
Cade's eyes sharpened instantly.
“She said if I couldn't deliver it to the Tower Master today... they'd shut down the school.”
“...Unbelievable.”
Using a child as a tool through threats.
The absurdity of it drew a laugh from him.
“Looks like you still need to keep attending school, huh?”
“Yes.”
Lana answered without hesitation.
Cade snatched the invitation from her hand.
Ben's eyes widened even more than when he had first spotted Lana.
Despite her bold answer, Lana nervously watched Cade's expression. As his silence stretched on, she began fidgeting.
“I delivered it, so... do you really need to open it?”
“Who knows.”
Now that the palace knew they could reach him through Lana, they would undoubtedly continue threatening her until he accepted an invitation.
And Lana would be dragged into it whether she liked it or not.
“Persistent, aren't they? I've told them countless times I have no intention of leaving Melgot except when I'm hunting monsters.”
Cade tore open the envelope on the spot.
After reading the location written inside, he let out a bored laugh.
His expression openly conveyed how predictable and tedious he found it.
“Whatever happened to the dignity of a princess?”
He casually crumpled the invitation and shoved it into his coat.
“You. Take Lana back to shore immediately. And Lana, prepare to be punished.”
“Yes, sir!”
Her energetic reply came so quickly that it was hard to believe she had looked dejected only moments ago.
With a sigh, Cade waved them away.
Then, after giving a brief signal to the mages, he immediately resumed the subjugation operation.
Surging ahead, he began slaughtering the monsters crowding the ocean's surface.
His magic was always terrifyingly powerful, but today there was an unmistakable sense of urgency behind it.
Ben hurried after him.
“Tower Master, why are you in such a rush today?”
“Someone's waiting for me.”
“Huh? Who could possibly— Ah, the invitation.”
Cade neither confirmed nor denied it.
Instead, he unleashed another barrage of magic onto the sea.
It looked as though a storm itself had erupted across the ocean.
My second day reporting to work at the Marine Observation Station.
“Enough! Stop asking already!”
Assistant Administrator Yukel finally exploded.
Paperwork, miscellaneous tasks, more paperwork, and an ever-growing mountain of duties that didn't even seem like they belonged to me.
Faced with that chaos, I had two choices.
Either muddle through the work while guessing what needed to be done despite receiving no proper handover...
Or ask questions whenever I didn't know something.
I chose the second option.
And I had a lot of questions.
“How long are you planning to keep asking things every step of the way? Do you think I'm your private tutor?”
The administrator pounded his chest in frustration.
Not that you're teaching me like one.
At first, he'd completely ignored my questions. After enough persistence, he eventually started answering, albeit with obvious reluctance.
Though most of his explanations felt suspiciously lacking in substance.
The only things he explained properly were tasks that required formal approval before moving on to the next stage.
Suppressing my irritation, I simply nodded.
Then suddenly, someone draped an arm around my shoulders.
I couldn't think of anyone who would be friendly enough with me to do that.
When I looked up in surprise, I found a blonde woman smiling brightly down at me.
I'd never seen her before.
“Yukel, why are you yelling again?”
“Get lost, Simona. You think I can stay calm? Just because she came from the Imperial Capital, am I supposed to spoon-feed her every little thing like she's a child?”
“Oh, don't get yourself worked up. Go cool your head off. I'll take care of our prickly little newcomer from the capital.”
Yukel glared at the woman with her arm around me.
“You're far too soft on people.”
Then he smacked his chest again and stormed out of the office.
Only after he left did the woman remove her arm and extend her hand.
“You're Vivian, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Simona Hart, one of the station's researchers.”
“Ah, yes. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
As I shook her hand, she clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“If you're from the Imperial Palace, people should be trying to get on your good side. Why is everyone so eager to bully you?”
I was wondering whether that was some new form of sarcasm when she continued.
“Don't mind what Yukel said. I heard he chewed you out the moment you arrived yesterday too. He's not a bad guy—just a nag with a rotten personality.”
“...?”
“Because of all the scammers who pretend to be government officials for money, identity verification isn't exactly unusual. Though having the Tower Master request it himself is a first.”
Now that she mentioned it, she wasn't wrong.
It irritated me, but Cade was the Tower Master.
He had every right to verify my identity.
“Come with me. I heard you'll be working here for a while. You should at least learn the layout of the station.”
“Thank you.”
Feeling somewhat dazed, I followed Researcher Simona.
She introduced me to the station staff and showed me all the important facilities as well as several shortcuts.
I had no idea there were so many hidden pathways inside this maze-like complex.
After more than a year of being a civil servant, I finally felt like I had met a proper senior colleague.
My mood improved considerably.
As I absorbed everything she taught me, I also took the opportunity to ask all the questions that had been piling up since yesterday.
“When the research vessel sets sail, do they coordinate schedules with fishing captains beforehand to avoid overlap?”
“Do researchers belong to the same department as the administrative staff?”
“There was a large open space at the end of the northern corridor. Is that related to marine weather observation too?”
At first, Simona answered everything readily.
But as my questions accumulated, she gradually began tilting her head in confusion.
“That's strange.”
“Pardon?”
“Hmm. Never mind. Come to think of it, you don't know anyone in Melgot, do you?”
“Not really.”
Simona's face lit up.
“Perfect. I've been invited to a birthday party tomorrow evening. Come with me.”
Then she added with a grin,
“And stop calling me Researcher. Just call me Senior.”
Unfortunately, my promise to accompany Senior Simona didn't last even a day.
The next afternoon, I was suddenly assigned fieldwork.
A supposedly urgent order from Assistant Administrator Yukel.
Since it looked like I wouldn't return until evening, I informed Simona that I wouldn't be able to keep our appointment.
She even told me to call her Senior...
To be fair, Yukel hadn't invented work just to send me away.
A group of small magical beasts had become stranded along a flooded coastline, creating a dangerous situation.
The travel alone was exhausting.
By the time I returned to the observation station, I felt completely drained.
I'm exhausted. I should head home and rest as soon as possible.
The moment I made that decision, Yukel called out to me.
“Investigator Vivian. Write up the report on the flooded coast and leave it on my desk by tomorrow.”
“...What?”
I stared at him.
“I just got back from the flooded coast.”